ACLU sues Laguna Beach over treatment of homeless

December 23, 2008

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Civil rights attorneys filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against this exclusive coastal town and accused its leadership of engaging in a campaign of harrassment against the homeless.

The American Civil Liberties Union alleged in its lawsuit that a city ban on sleeping on the street is unconstitutional, particularly because there are no year-round city-sponsored shelters. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana.

“There are even more art galleries than homeless residents,” said Mark Rosenbaum, ACLU’s legal director for Southern California. “Yet city leaders have chosen to attempt to eliminate the homeless, rather than eliminate homelessness.”

The lawsuit seeks a change in policy, but no money for the homeless, Rosenbaum said.

Assistant City Manager John Pietig objected to the characterization of the city as an exclusive, oceanfront hamlet bent on driving out fewer than 100 chronically homeless people.

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“We’re a very tolerant community,” he said. “We have one of the most aggressive programs in the state of California to address homeless issues.”

The City Council recently considered revising the 1950s ordinance that bans street sleeping, but postponed the matter for further review, Pietig said.

He said there was no policy to harass homeless people sleeping outdoors, but officers occasionally ticket people camping illegally in wooded areas because of the wildfire danger from campfires.

The town of about 25,000 nestled on bluffs above coves and tide pools is famous for its art galleries and festivals, trendy boutiques and luxury hilltop homes with Pacific vistas. The community, with a median home price of about $1.3 million, was also the setting of MTV’s hit reality show “Laguna Beach.”

In a grassy downtown park that fronts a beach and a dazzling blue ocean, more than a dozen homeless people, many with large rucksacks, sat on benches.

Alan Olson, 39, said he’d been homeless for two years and was frequently harassed by police. He’s received two tickets for illegal camping in an area on the outskirts of town, he said, and faces a fine of up to $180 at his court date next month.

“They come up and shine the lights in my eyes so I can’t see who they are and they give me a ticket,” he said. “I want to see everything change. Maybe now they can treat homeless … better instead of harassing ’em.”

Pietig said the city formed a homeless task force last year and has hired a community outreach officer, held community forums on the issue and approved a $100,000 interest-free loan to a local nonprofit dedicated to helping the homeless.

To combat panhandling, the city set up five collection sites around town for spare change that is donated to the homeless, raising $2,500 since July, Pietig said. The city also contributes $15,000 to $20,000 a year to a 41-bed cold weather shelter run by local churches.